Thursday, February 2, 2012

Staining Oak Cabinets an Espresso Color {DIY Tutorial}

Ok. The moment you’ve all been waiting for… or the moment the 3 of you who have asked me about this specific tutorial this week have been waiting for.

Here we go.

Transforming builder grade honey oak cabinets into sultry, dark espresso cabinets is easy. It’s messy though. I’m going to walk you through it step by step as much as I can in this tutorial. I hope you’ll find it easy, non-intimidating and then recommend my blog to all your friends so my blog can grow and grow. Since I do this all for free out of the goodness of my little heart.

No pressure.

Tell your friends.

No really. Did you?

Alright, let’s do this. You need some supplies first. They’re not pricey, but you do need all of them. If there’s an appropriate alternative, I’ll list it. Otherwise, plan to get exactly what I list to get the same results I did.

Supplies:

-Sanding block (I bought an angled one for about $4 from my local hardware store. The angled sanding block helps when if you have beveled cabinets/doors/drawers.

-Lysol dual action wipes (or a sponge with soap/water)

-Gloves

-Masking tape AND painter’s tape (you could just use painter’s tape, I use masking tape because it’s cheap at Dollar Tree…so in other words, painter’s tape is expensive, so I only use it when I absolutely have to)

-General Finishes Java Gel Stain (YOU CANNOT SUBSTITUTE THIS! I had a ton of trouble finding it locally, so I bought it on Amazon and had it to my door in about 4 days.) If you’re doing a small vanity, order the 1/2 pint. If you’re doing a whole kitchen, order the quart. I ordered the quart since I am doing a vanity + a whole kitchen. A little of this goes a LONG way.

UPDATE: Due to insane amounts of traffic from Pinterest, there’s now a FAQ post about this very tutorial below. You can read it here.

Here’s what my vanity looked like before I got started.

Step 1: Remove all hardware and put it in a ziploc baggy.

Simple enough.

Step 2: Prep your area.

This is probably the least fun step, but you must protect your floors, counters, walls, tiles, or any area that may get stain on it. And trust me, this stuff is oil based, so it stains easily and quickly. Makes it great for cabinets, not great for anything else. Prep now to avoid lots of messy clean-up later. I used painters tape for walls/counters/inside of cabinets and I used masking tape to tape my paper down onto the floor.

Step 3: Clean all cabinet frames/drawers/doors and remove them.

I used the Lysol dual action wipes because one side is scrubby and the other side is smooth. Basically you want to make sure to get any grime, dust, gooey stuff, dirt, etc. off the cabinets. Now, my vanity is obviously in a bathroom, so this step was quick and easy. If you’re prepping kitchen cabinets, you’ll like need to use a sponge and soapy water to get off years of grease and gunk. Once you’re done cleaning, make sure they’re dry and go ahead and remove all the drawers and doors. I stained my drawers/doors in the garage, so I moved all of that over there.

Step 4: Lightly sand cabinets and remove dust with a tack cloth.

You should not spend a ton of time sanding. I would say 1 minute per door and 30 seconds per drawer. You’re just wanting to break up some of the shine on cabinets, not completely strip them. I used an angled sanding block with a fine (not medium or coarse) finish to get in the bevels. Once you sand, make sure to thoroughly wipe off all dust with a tack cloth. Do this twice.

This step doesn’t have many pictures because I had to use one hand to stain and another to make sure I wasn’t getting gel stain all over the place…but bear with me.

You’ll put on a vinyl glove. I put it on my right hand since I am right handed. Then put your men’s sock over it. Why does it have to be a men’s sock? Well, generally men’s socks are white and tend to be LONG, so it’ll protect your entire forearm from gel stain. The glove is meant to protect your hands from being stained an espresso color. You’ll leave your other hand free to wipe off any globs or stain that you might get in places you don’t want them.

I’ve read reports where people used a foam brush to apply the stain, but I prefer the sock method. It results in even, precise, brush stroke free application. And socks are easy to find. I now get excited when I have an orphan sock. Now, I did use the foam brush to get in tight places like near the counters or in beveled corners, but for 90% of the time I used the sock method.

Now, how much stain to use? I used about 1 tbsp per drawer and 1.5-2 tbsp per door. These aren’t exact figures, so don’t go whip out your measuring spoons, but my point is use a slightly generous amount, but do not go overboard. Also, unlike other staining methods, do not wipe it off. You want to put on a nice, thin coat. Make sure the stain doesn’t glob up on/in corners, that’s when cheesecloth/gauze is handy. Then you let coat 1 dry for 12 hours. Then you put the 2nd coat. Let it dry for 24 hours. Then put the last/third coat and let it dry for 5 days and then seal it with 2 coats of gel poly. Drying time is so important, do not rush this step or you will end up having to put on a billion coats of stain and it will not be good. Light, thin coats + ample drying time + topcoat= fantastic results.

Your first coat may result in panic… Go have a shot of tequila and keep the faith. It will look streaky and odd and ugly.

Another shot of how ugly coat 1 looks.

After 3 coats of stain + 2 coats of poly + lots of drying time, you can put on your hardware again. And you’re done! Ta-dah!

My bathroom is super narrow, so it’s hard to get a straight on pic/shot of the drawers, so here are a few…

Now, you’ll notice the doors aren’t back on yet, and that’s because I’ve only done 1 side and need to do the other. For now, this is all I got. I’ll update with a lovely photo once I have it all done. Promise.

-On cabinet doors, plan on doing the front and backs. I bought some painters pyramids to prop up my doors so I can knock out both sides at one time. These are $4/10 at Home Depot. I bought 2 packs so I could have a multiple of 4. Each door will need 4 pyramids to be stable.

-Light coats=success

-Drying time=the longer the better

-Each drawer should take about 1-2 minutes a coat. Each door should take 3-4 minutes. Do not over apply or over wipe. Check for globs when you’re done and smooth out with pinky finger.

-If you’re intimated by this project, try it on the back of a cabinet door first or buy a spare cabinet door at REStore or Goodwill.

-This method does not work on bare wood.

-Touch up any streaks in the finish BEFORE applying the poly.

-You can do this! If you have a large kitchen, break it up into manageable chunks over a few weekends.

-Parts of my vanity were laminate and not wood. Treat it as if it was wood. It’ll all work out in the end.

I hope you all found this tutorial to be useful in trying to DIY your way from honey oak cabinets into a stunning espresso finish. Please leave me any adoring comments or questions below, or you can always tweet at me (@monicabenavidez) or e-mail me at monicawantsit{@}gmail.com

And for funsies! Before & After:

I love it…now onto my large kitchen. The work never ends.

UPDATE: Due to insane amounts of traffic from Pinterest, there’s now a FAQ post about this very tutorial below. You can read it here.

Good Lord, woman! The planet's have guided me to you! I have a lovely home, but it was built 30 years ago and there is so so so much honey oak cabinetry. I'm getting ready to rip out the mauve-ish formica, strip the Southwest-y wallpaper and put in new sinks. I have spent many a sleepless night wondering just how hard it would be to stain my cabinets espresso. BTW both bathrooms also have the honey oak. As do the doors to all rooms, and the trim. It's a large house. Maybe I'll start with a bathroom and spend the next year on the project.

It looks amazing, Monica, you did a fabulous job! I did this in my kitchen and it has held up nicely, except in a couple of spots around the cabinet knobs that get a lot of use. For that reason I recommend buying some extra stain to have on hand over the years. I can no longer find the color of stain I used so I now I don't have any for touch-ups:( And I agree, drying/cure time is key!

So glad I found this today. I just started this project last night. I want to do my kitchen but decided to do a bathroom first. I am at the scary end of coat 1 Holy crap what have I done step. Glad to know the streaks and uneven-ness are part of the process. Whew! Thanks again!!

I just found your tutorial and it's exactly what I'm looking for! I'm sure this is an older post, so perhaps you can answer a question for me--how hardy are these. I run a crazy house with 3 little munchkins and I'm looking for something hardy--can these cabinets take a good hardy scrubbing, often? Can they hold up against a little girl who loves to put stickers on everything? And how easy is it to touch up spots when the boys take tools to the sides? Any experience with such mishaps?Thanks!

I don't have kiddos, but I would say that if you need it to hold up really well, I'd definitely spend a lot of time/energy on the poly topcoat to seal it in. In a bathroom, I'd say 2-3 coats and in a kitchen, I'd say 4. The topcoat will be key to having a fab finish that is durable. Hope that helps!

LOVE THIS!!!! I HATE oak, and the home we just bought has nasty honey oak everywhere! I was thinking about painting white in our kitchen, but with your blog, I may just go dark! It looks lovely! Thanks for posting this at all, and an extra thanks for all the tips! :)

I am sooo glad I stumbled on your blog (pinterest)! Your tutorial is just what I was needing! my husband and I are in love with deep dark cabinets and the house that we put an offer on has the nasty oak cabinets. Thank you for the step by step and price list! So inspiring and incredibly worth it!

So excited I found this! Pinterest *rocks*!! I hate my kitchen cabinets and I'm totally going to do this. I have black appliances, so I won't go so dark, but dark brown, for sure. Thank you Thank you Thank you!! *:D*

This is beautiful and i wish i would have found your blog last summer! After refinishing 2 of our bathrooms with honey oak cabinets, and unsussessful with the espresso stain color i was hoping for, i wimped out and painted our kitchen cabinets an espresso shade. I like the results, but your method is stunning. I just may give the bathrooms another shot.

So glad I found your project on Pinterest! I needed to turn a rustic natural colored pine sleigh bed into a dark cherry colored bed to match some dressers we already had. Low and behold this gel stain works wonders on already-finished furniture too! Oh yeah, and I'll be going back for the java color next weekend to start swapping out my orangish gold colored kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Thanks for the tips!!

Project Java Gel Stain Bathroom Vanity: Success I found it locally here in Sandy Utah at Woodcraft only place that carries it! First coat on and I am seriously giddy about how much better it looks already! The drawers super easy, used a tiny paint brush to get in to the corners/edges of the doors where my sock paw couldnt. The sock technique IS brillant! I HATE brush strokes too. I find myself walking around my house finding all things needing a shot of java expresso, thinking 'bout my blonde oak fugly barstools! Thank you SO much for the wonderful tutorial! Going to tackle the second coat now :)

Quick question.... I'm a bit sensitive to strong odors. How bad are these (the stain and the topcoat)? I'm trying to gauge if I should dive in & have a major supply of migraine medication on hand or if by any chance the might be "low odor" (which I know is unlikely).

I LOVE this! We are in the middle of the 5 day drying process of the 3rd coat in the master bathroom and we are loving it. How long do we wait in between each of the top coats? I'll probably do quite a few coats since I have 3 little kids running around the house. Thanks SO much for your detailed tutorial. It saved us a ton of time and money...now onto the kitchen!

Thank you SO much!! We just purchased a house that has all oak cabinets!! I hate it and I'm coming from a house with dark woodwork so it was killing me. I just happened upon your post via pinterest, showed it to hubby, and now as soon as we are in, we are doing this.

Do you think this would work on woodwork trim as well?? Ha! Can you tell I hate light oak?

Monica, I already emailed you a thank you, but to let everyone else know. I've started doing this and it ROCKS!! It couldn't be easier. I had found celticmoon's tutorial before and had tried it and I never truly READ the tutorial but read the back of the can. I thought to myself "OHHH I can do this!!" not so fast missy!!.. do NOT wipe the stain off!! that's the clincher to this. Its inherent to want to WIPE the extra stain of to 'stain' the cabinets. Do NOT wipe the stain off. Once I READ Monica's tutorial and really adhered to it, my problems were solved and now I can't wait to turn my entire honey oak house into gorgeous espresso. Thank you so much!!

I love this! One question though. I want to do this but have the fake wood panelling on the side of mine. Did you just put the stain on the panel? Or is your real wood? Can it be done on fake wood? Thanks!!

I have all but clicked "check out" on Amazon to buy everything I need, but before I do, do you remember what grit you used for the sanding block? I don't want to use one that is too coarse/fine. I will be doing this ASAP! LOVE it!

This is awesome. I was just about to paint my cabinets in espresso but now I'm going with your method. Question: which top coat did you use and is it a satin finish? It sounded like the same brand as stain but I wasn't sure. And if there are different ones like satin or gloss finish. Thank you, you are so my people. I am a big DIY'er and watch these shows all the time. Have put in laminate floor and back splash all by myself. :)

Nice job!! I've been wanting to re-finish my kitchen cabinets for about 4 years now..and still have yet to do them! Your blog gives me hope. Do you think a different "color" stain would work? I'm not sure I want to do a java stain. It may be too dark for my kitchen.

What if your cabinets aren't REAL wood - think this technique would still work? I have been wanting to darken up my oak-colored cabinets since we moved into our house 5 year ago!!! I would LOVE to try this!!!!!! Thanks for all your help!

As the kids say today OMG girl! I love your project & the results are Stunning! Thank you from the bottom of my essentially Scottish heart!! I can do this!! I'm jumping up & down inside with excitement!!

Wow! These look awesome. And thanks for the detailed tutorial. I'm moving to a new place in a little over a month *yay* and something definitely needs to be done to the kitchen cabinets! You can bet I'll be referring back to your tutorial :) Found you on pinterest - and I'm a new follower. I'm off to stalk you blog now and see what I've been missing :)

THANK YOU for this tutorial! My house is on the market with lots of maple cabinetry and no contrasting counters or floors. If it doesn't sell soon, I'm going to try this before re-listing in the spring. Fingers crossed!

Can you explain why you're so married to this particular brand of stain and poly? I would like to try this, but I live in Canada and I've never seen this brand, and Amazon won't ship it here. Is it because it's a gel?

Oh I'm so glad I found this! Had a disaster of a time staining a table using water-based minwax. Was about to give up and just paint over it all, but Im ready to try using this gel stain!Wonderful tutorial, thank you!

Hi :) wow your bathroom came out beautiful. so glad i found your blog. I went out and bought the supplies last night. I can't wait to start this. thank you so much for your step by step directions. your awesome.

I found this on Pinterest. We are in the process of buying a new (to us) house, and I plan on doing this in the bathrooms. Thanks so much! I will try to remember to comment again after I am done. Your cabinet looks really good! Thank you so much for this. :)Vanessa

I'm so excited to try this! I was so excited I actually got ahead of myself. Took all the cabinet off and the drawers out BEFORE I got the stain. I was thinking I'd have all that done and then go to the hardware store and get the stain. Ummm bad idea. I couldn't find it anywhere so then I went to Amazon and they were even out of the poly coat. I ended up ordering from www.woodcraft.com, but it could take up to 10 days to get to me. So until then I'm living in disarray in my bathroom. In my defense this is my first DIY home project so I completely let my excitement cloud my judgement. My first lesson learned is to "make sure you have all of your supplies BEFORE you start taking things apart!" lol. Oh and I also forgot to take my "before" pic before I took all the cabinets and drawers out. haha! I'm on a roll. This could end up being disastrous, but I figure it's better to try to salvage something first before just ripping it out and buying new things. Thanks for the great tutorial. Here's to hoping I can pull it off.

Found you from Pinterest and have bookmarked your blog for future! Thank you so much for your detailed post. We close on our new house this Friday and I've been dying to find a tutorial as clear as yours!

Saw your before and after pics on Pinterest and was super excited to find your tutorial. All my cabinets are the light oak, and I really, really want a change. This is the perfect option since my hubby doesn't want them painted! I'm hoping he likes this idea as much as I do!!

Hey There! I found this on Pinterest and I am in LOVE with this! Can't wait to try it on my bathroom, then maybe my kitchen! -- I have a small kitchen though, I'm worried the dark stain would make it seem smaller :/ We'll see! I am a new follower and can't wait to see what else you have in store! Also, I am pinning this as well!Thanks!

I love this!! I have a honey oak end table in my living room (hand-me-down from my hubby's grandparents), and we love the end table, it just does not go with my color scheme-- I am so going to do this!!

Also-- how do you think this would work on all laminate kitchen cupboards??

I am in the middle of an overhaul of my house. I have wood laminate floors everywhere that were once a beautiful color and now are so dated. I just tore out some of the laminate in the master bath floor and I'm going to experiment with this to see what would happen if I took on the floors. By working on some that is already in the garbage heap I can test the possibilities. Thanks so much for sharing!

This is an amazing DIY! Inventive, clear, seems simple and fantastic results! I loved your approach to writting as well. Your personality shows through making it a delight to read. Thank you so much for sharing!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been wanting to the very same thing in our master bathroom but was worried about how the gel stain would work out. You've taken the guess work out of it for me! Greatly appreciated and will be pinned/recommended. :)

I found this on pinterest and am super excited to try it!! I'm planning on doing my kitchen. It is overwhelming to think of doing it all. At first I wanted to paint them white. But after seeing this I think this is the way to go. It won't show nearly as much gunk and will still work well with the hardware I have! Thanks for sharing!

Hello! i saw your cabinet staining tutorial on Pinterest & im excited to try this! i do have a question though, when the staining is complete & you ready to apply the gel poly, what is the drying time on that? I just to make sure my cabinets took as good as yours! Thank You for the tutorial, its looks easy & kinda fun =)

Hi, just found your blog thru Pinterest and am so excited about this tutorial on staining cabinets. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I have 4 bathrooms and a kitchen that are in dire need of updating. I hope there will be more coming on your blog, I will be watching and waiting. So far it looks like this is the last entry and was a while ago so I'm not even sure you will see this comment but if you do you will know that you have a new follower. Great job on your blog.

Oh how I want to do this, but my cabinets are not wood :( Well, part of them are, but they are covered in this... I'm not even sure what to call it. Laminate? (Ex: if you put tape on the side of the pantry and take the tape off, it rips the laminate off.) I will be saving this post for my next house though!!

I saw this post and my hubby and I decided to buy a large L-Shaped oak desk off Craig's list for his future office and I'm just refinishing it to the dark wood. Nervous and excited as this will be his home office!! Here goes nothing!!

Found you on pinterest, pinned you myself, and decided I should post a huge THANK YOU for sharing this! I'm bad about pinning and never commenting (which I hear is frustrating for bloggers)...but this tutorial may just save my sanity and wallet! Thanks again for sharing!

I hate my oak cabinets. I'd love to do this to my island and see how it looks. I dream of dark island and white cabinets and think this would be the perfect start to achieving that. Thanks for sharing! Now to convince my husband :)

Just started this project today and already sooooo excited! It was easy and the stain doesn't even smell! (being 34 weeks pregnant this is a very good thing!).... Hoping it works as well as yours and that I can move onto my kitchens! Thanks again!

Tip from a former house keeper: If cabinets are uber grimy, such as over kitchen stove use a solution of hot hot water mixedwith oxy-clean. Dissolves grease and build up almost instantly and without too much elbow grease. If your not painting or refinishing wipe down with orange oil to renew shine and protect the wood.

You have totally infused me with courage to do this! I've had builder grade honey oak for 20 years and I'm beyond over it! Thank you so much for taking the time to document what you did for the rest of us! I will take before and after pics and show you...Lanée Willardsen in Denver

Almost painted our ugly honey oak/oak veneer bedroom set until I found this blog... I was doubtful about painting over the veneer (on top of particle board) and maintaining a consistent look so I tried it out first on an end table. The Java Gel worked fantastic! I used a rotary sander with 120 grit and went over the veneer surface 3-4 times to rough it up - just be careful not to sand completely through the veneer! Socks worked great - and I found it to be absolutely crucial that you not over apply and keep the coats thin. FYI, if you live in LA like me you can't buy the Gel Poly here (EPA laws).

I just finished doing the first coat on my bathroom cabinets! Will let it dry overnight and add the second in the morning. Thanks so much for the advice and instructions, not a hard or expensive project, but really transforms the room!

Thanks for this tutorial. We are planning to have my dad build us some built-in shelves that we would like finished this way. I know you said NOT to do it on plain wood. Do you think it could it be done if the wood was primed first, before starting the rest of the process? Or do you happen to know what would work on plain wood to achieve this look? Thanks so much!

This looks Awesome! I'm putting my home on the market soon so this is a great idea for the bathroom cabinets... I'll be starting this project this weekend....Thank you for putting this project online...

Just want to say thanks so much for this blog! I followed the instructions exactly and I just love how it looks! Staining the vanity, changing the faucet, light fixture, hardware and a fresh coat of paint - it looks incredible! Couldn't have done it without this!

So inspired...so excited. I can't wait to start on my butt ugly oak cabinets. I already have the tequila in stock.

I have two questions. You're adamant that we should use General Finishes products. I've ordered the gel stain from Amazon, but the Satin Gel Poly topcoat is unavailable and Googling hasn't helped me find it anywhere. Any suggestions on how I can substitute. Also, I saw the schedule for drying the stain. (Very detailed...thanks for that!) How long did you let each coat of your topcoat dry?

Oops...never mind. After yesterday's Google fail and not thinking to look in your comments, I just discovered that one of your readers mentioned woodcraft.com and they have it!

Still need to understand the drying schedule for the topcoat though. I really, REALLY can't wait to get started! And after reading more comments, I may gamble on doing this with some cheapo oak finished book shelves.

You mention that this will NOT work on unfinished wood. Any suggestions on where to start with that? I'd like to have a similar finish on the molding we use to frame our super huge bathroom mirror.

Looks great!!!! Thanks for sharing:) I have dark 70's wood vanity in my bathroom and was thinking about jut getting new countertop at this point but do you think this would work for dated darker wood cabinets I am trying to do this ASAP .

I just KNEW there had to be a way to do this without completely removing the finish...but I didn't know what product to use. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. It may take a while before I can get to it, but I WILL get to it.

just one question, are the sides of your cabinets wood or are they particle board with faux wood finish? I'm concerned that the stain won't take on the fax finish sides (BTW, they show most on either side of the sink- the spot that would drive me outta my mind)

So excited to find this via pinterest! Thank you so much. Looking to buy a house that I'm sure will have the ugliest cabinetry in it, this will help me to overlook that and see it as a totally fixable feature! Love it. Thank you for taking the time.

Just started this today on a bookcase in my daughters room, I am on the second coat now and it looks fantastic already. Iam so excited, the wheels are turning about all the other ways and places I can use this

I just stumbled on this tutorial on pinterest and am so happy I did!!! I've been wanting to do this to my coffee table but been totally uncertain of how to go about it. Thanks for the simple steps, even a ding dong like me should be able to handle this project :)

Thank you SO much!!!! It took me awhile to bite the bullet, but I wanted to share my results! (see pic below) Next up -- new countertop and floors. With this trick, I'll be able to redo my kitchen for under $1500!!! I am so happy I found your post, and have been sharing it with everyone!!

This is seriously gorgeous! I hope this post is still here in a few years because I'm sure I'll need it when I get my own house. :)

But actually, from reading a couple comments above, I got inspired to try it on a desk that I have. I think it'll still be a few months, but I can't want to try it! Thanks so much for the inspiration and tutorial!

I did not read through all your comments, so I hope this is not repetitive. Do you think this would work on a darker oak? I hate the dark oak in my home. It is not light like yours. Anyone you know tried it on a dark oak?

I just started this on my kitchen cabinets this weekend. They are the cheesy washed oak - really cheap and really ugly. I've already done the 6+ foot long vanity in the bathroom and it came out AMAZING!!! It really is as easy as she says (just messy), and the results are unbelievable! Thank you for the detailed directions!!

So happy to have found this! Have been wanting to do my cabinets for a long time but have been super intimidated by it. After reading your post I'm feeling more confident I can accomplish this! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I just got a steal on a "fixer-uper" as my first home. My parents are helping with the repairs and I'm trying to allocate $ where its needed most ie : furnace, water heater, windows...so this totally psych's me up for a way to save my ugly awful 1970's cabinets until I can install new! You my friend are a goddess and have I mentioned I <3 pinterest!!!!!!

I just got a steal on a "fixer-uper" as my first home. My parents are helping with the repairs and I'm trying to allocate $ where its needed most ie : furnace, water heater, windows...so this totally psych's me up for a way to save my ugly awful 1970's cabinets until I can install new! You my friend are a goddess and have I mentioned I <3 pinterest!!!!!!

I just got a steal on a "fixer-uper" as my first home. My parents are helping with the repairs and I'm trying to allocate $ where its needed most ie : furnace, water heater, windows...so this totally psych's me up for a way to save my ugly awful 1970's cabinets until I can install new! You my friend are a goddess and have I mentioned I <3 pinterest!!!!!!

I just got a steal on a "fixer-uper" as my first home. My parents are helping with the repairs and I'm trying to allocate $ where its needed most ie : furnace, water heater, windows...so this totally psych's me up for a way to save my ugly awful 1970's cabinets until I can install new! You my friend are a goddess and have I mentioned I <3 pinterest!!!!!!

I was just wondering if doing your bathroom again would you do this method or use the rustoleum kit. You mentioned you wouldn't use dark to light but light to espresso would work. Thank you in advance for your opinion!

I think I am going to try this on my dinning room table and chairs - wish me luck!! I HAVE used this stain (same brand - different color) for staining the trim, doors, etc in our basement when we were finishing it. I was applying to bare wood and LOVED THE RESULTS!!! (one coat of stain and 2 poly's were it for those surfaces - I didn't use a guys sock - fresh out:0 but I did use a square of an old cotton undershirt that worked great (maybe less streaky too b/c the weave of the fabric is closer together)) I am a bit more scared to try it on a previously finished/varnished surface, but you've given me hope!!

Is there any reason I couldn't use Minwax brand of gel stain? Is there something special about General Finishes? It looks like it's the same stuff, but I don't want to use something that won't be as good.

I am thrilled to have found this tutorial!! My husband and I were just talking the other day about what we'd like to do to our kitchen (that has honey oak cabinets. We both agreed that we'd like the cabinets darker, but were afraid we'd have to totally strip the old cabinets. This tutorial took that worry away. Your vanity looks awesome!! I intend to order this stain and start ASAP.

Okay, you convinced me! I'm doing it, man! Great tutorial and photos. I really like the idea of getting a castoff cabinet door from Restore and testing! Duh! Sometimes as a DIY'er, I tend to over think things - glad you did the thinking for me this time! Thanks for sharing. On my way to pinning now!

I just bought a home with the standard medium oak kitchen cabinets. Thanks to this blog I am transforming my kitchen into my dream! I only used one coat of stain, rubbed it in very well though (no streaks). It took me about 10 hours of labor to remove the doors and hardware and apply the stain, on to the first application of poly today. This project was a lot to take on by myself. I would recommend having a good helper to help the process. I am SO SORE! Lots of work left but very happy I have the color I wanted!!! Thank you so much Monica! Note to others: I am not creative and a typical DIYer and I did this. You can too!

I just wanted to say Thank You so very much for this post, even though you have some blogging frustrations, you have really helped me be happier in my home. What a gift! I just finished our bathroom and love the results! Everyone says it looks professional! Next week I plan to start the kitchen, even though it is a small kitchen, it feels like a monumental task. First time I have ever been grateful for a tiny kitchen. Anyways, thank you so very much!!

I just checked my local stores in Phoenix that sell these products. They are in stock with all the other stains and colors EXCEPT the specific ones that you suggest. You are changing the world sister! To repeat: I live in Phoenix, it is huge, but the stores that sell this are all out of stock of your recommendations. So many people have been doing this!! I can't wait to start my own three bathrooms!

I love comments! They truly make my day, and make my heart happy. If you're asking me a question or leaving a response that requires follow up, please leave me a way to contact you, check back in the comments section for a reply, or feel free to e-mail me at monicawantsit@gmail.com Thanks!